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Himalayan Tahr

 

Also known as Long-wooled Sheep, it belongs to the Bovidae family of Artiodactyla order, with the Latin scientific name Hemitragus jemlahicus, and English name Himalayan Tahr.   

Its stout body has a length of 120 to 140 centimeters, and shoulder height of 84 to 101 centimeters. The male weighs up to 90 kilograms, while the female is smaller than the male. The whole capitiform is narrow and long. Both male and female have ficelle horn, but the male's horn is stouter. The pair of horns looks like the letter Y from the front. No beard is below the jaw; tails are short and ventral sides bare. The hair coat all over is harsh and taupe or brown. The hair on neck, shoulders and hips can reach up to 12 to 18 centimeters long.

Mainly inhabiting on the south side of Himalaya Mountain at an elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 meters, it usually moves about on rugged bare rock upland and forest fringes, adaptable to chilly and pluvial climate. It hides in alpine shrubberies or rugged regions at night. Most of them group in dozens, with comparatively fixed range of movement. It is alert by nature, inaccessible. Mainly feeding on herbaceous plants, it also eats fruticose young leaves. In general they mate at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, with a gestational period of 6 to 7 months, and litter in June, one baby per fetus, sometimes two babies. Under breeding condition, it has a lifespan of about 21.9 years.

Distributed on the south side of Himalaya Mountains in Tibet Autonomous Region, China, it was first found in 1974, with a small quantity.

 
 
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